Vehicle doors are typically swung between fully closed and fully opened positions to permit ingress and egress of passengers to and from a vehicle. A door check assembly is typically employed to limit how far open the door can be swung and to provide intermediate positions at which the door can be held. A traditional door check assembly includes a check arm that has several detents and a check arm keeper that employs a spring-loaded plunger that engages a detent to hold the door in an intermediate position. Because vehicle doors are relatively heavy, and because of the geometries involved, the spring that is used to hold the plunger in the detent typically has a relatively high spring rate and is in a state of compression at all times when the keeper is engaged with the check arm.
When assembling a typical check arm keeper, it is relatively difficult to compress the spring in the keeper housing and to enclose the housing so as to hold the spring in a compressed state, due at least in part to the high rate of the spring. It would be advantageous to provide a check arm keeper that is easier to assemble.
Additionally, some check arm keepers are relatively heavy. There is a continuing need to lighten components and assemblies in the automotive industry. Thus it would be advantageous to provide a check arm keeper with reduced weight.